fix(ui): warn instead of limiting tool selection

go/api/config/crd/bases/kagent.dev_agents.yaml

@@ -2277,7 +2277,6 @@ spec:
                     rule: '!(has(self.agent) && self.type != ''Agent'')'
                   - message: type.agent must be specified for Agent filter.type
                     rule: '!(!has(self.agent) && self.type == ''Agent'')'
-                maxItems: 20
                 type: array
             type: object
           status:
@@ -10158,7 +10157,6 @@ spec:
                         rule: '!(has(self.agent) && self.type != ''Agent'')'
                       - message: type.agent must be specified for Agent filter.type
                         rule: '!(!has(self.agent) && self.type == ''Agent'')'
-                    maxItems: 20
                     type: array
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-validations:

go/api/config/crd/bases/kagent.dev_sandboxagents.yaml

@@ -7808,7 +7808,6 @@ spec:
                         rule: '!(has(self.agent) && self.type != ''Agent'')'
                       - message: type.agent must be specified for Agent filter.type
                         rule: '!(!has(self.agent) && self.type == ''Agent'')'
-                    maxItems: 20
                     type: array
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-validations:

go/api/v1alpha1/agent_types.go

@@ -39,8 +39,7 @@
 	// Whether to stream the response from the model.
 	// If not specified, the default value is true.
 	// +optional
 	Stream *bool `json:"stream,omitempty"`
-	// +kubebuilder:validation:MaxItems=20
 	Tools []*Tool `json:"tools,omitempty"`
 	// Can either be a reference to the name of a Memory in the same namespace as the referencing Agent, or a reference to the name of a Memory in a different namespace in the form <namespace>/<name>
 	// +optional

go/api/v1alpha2/agent_types.go

@@ -179,8 +179,7 @@
 	// Whether to stream the response from the model.
 	// If not specified, the default value is false.
 	// +optional
 	Stream bool `json:"stream,omitempty"`
-	// +kubebuilder:validation:MaxItems=20
 	Tools []*Tool `json:"tools,omitempty"`
 	// A2AConfig instantiates an A2A server for this agent,
 	// served on the HTTP port of the kagent kubernetes

helm/kagent-crds/templates/kagent.dev_agents.yaml

@@ -2277,7 +2277,6 @@ spec:
                     rule: '!(has(self.agent) && self.type != ''Agent'')'
                   - message: type.agent must be specified for Agent filter.type
                     rule: '!(!has(self.agent) && self.type == ''Agent'')'
-                maxItems: 20
                 type: array
             type: object
           status:
@@ -10158,7 +10157,6 @@ spec:
                         rule: '!(has(self.agent) && self.type != ''Agent'')'
                       - message: type.agent must be specified for Agent filter.type
                         rule: '!(!has(self.agent) && self.type == ''Agent'')'
-                    maxItems: 20
                     type: array
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-validations:

helm/kagent-crds/templates/kagent.dev_sandboxagents.yaml

@@ -7808,7 +7808,6 @@ spec:
                         rule: '!(has(self.agent) && self.type != ''Agent'')'
                       - message: type.agent must be specified for Agent filter.type
                         rule: '!(!has(self.agent) && self.type == ''Agent'')'
-                    maxItems: 20
                     type: array
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-validations:

ui/src/components/create/SelectToolsDialog.tsx

@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@ import { toast } from "sonner";
 import KagentLogo from "../kagent-logo";
 import { k8sRefUtils } from "@/lib/k8sUtils";
 
-// Maximum number of tools that can be selected
-const MAX_TOOLS_LIMIT = 20;
+const TOOLS_WARNING_THRESHOLD = 20;
 
 interface SelectToolsDialogProps {
   open: boolean;
@@ -119,7 +118,7 @@ export const SelectToolsDialog: React.FC<SelectToolsDialogProps> = ({ open, onOp
     }, 0);
   }, [localSelectedTools]);
 
-  const isLimitReached = actualSelectedCount >= MAX_TOOLS_LIMIT;
+  const showToolCountWarning = actualSelectedCount >= TOOLS_WARNING_THRESHOLD;
 
   const filteredAvailableItems = useMemo(() => {
     const searchLower = searchTerm.toLowerCase();
@@ -223,10 +222,6 @@ export const SelectToolsDialog: React.FC<SelectToolsDialogProps> = ({ open, onOp
       return;
     }
 
-    if (actualSelectedCount >= MAX_TOOLS_LIMIT) {
-      return;
-    }
-
     let toolToAdd: Tool;
 
     if (isAgentResponse(item)) {
@@ -427,20 +422,18 @@ export const SelectToolsDialog: React.FC<SelectToolsDialogProps> = ({ open, onOp
                             {items.map((item) => {
                               const { displayName, description, identifier, providerText } = getItemDisplayInfo(item);
                               const isSelected = isItemSelected(item);
-                              const isDisabled = !isSelected && isLimitReached;
-
                               return (
                                 <div
                                   key={identifier}
-                                  className={`flex items-center justify-between p-3 pr-2 group min-w-0 ${isDisabled ? 'opacity-50 cursor-not-allowed' : isSelected ? 'cursor-default' : 'cursor-pointer hover:bg-muted/50'}`}
-                                  onClick={() => !isDisabled && !isSelected && handleAddItem(item)}
+                                  className={`flex items-center justify-between p-3 pr-2 group min-w-0 ${isSelected ? 'cursor-default' : 'cursor-pointer hover:bg-muted/50'}`}
+                                  onClick={() => !isSelected && handleAddItem(item)}
                                 >
                                   <div className="flex-1 overflow-hidden pr-2">
                                     <p className="font-medium text-sm truncate overflow-hidden">{highlightMatch(displayName, searchTerm)}</p>
                                     {description && <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{highlightMatch(description, searchTerm)}</p>}
                                     {providerText && <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground/80 font-mono mt-1">{highlightMatch(providerText, searchTerm)}</p>}
                                   </div>
-                                  {!isSelected && !isDisabled && (
+                                  {!isSelected && (
                                      <Button variant="ghost" size="icon" className="h-7 w-7 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 text-green-600 hover:text-green-700" >
                                        <PlusCircle className="h-4 w-4"/>
                                      </Button>
@@ -506,17 +499,17 @@ export const SelectToolsDialog: React.FC<SelectToolsDialogProps> = ({ open, onOp
           {/* Right Panel: Selected Tools */}
           <div className="w-1/2 min-w-0 flex flex-col p-4 space-y-4">
             <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2">
-              <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold">Selected ({actualSelectedCount}/{MAX_TOOLS_LIMIT})</h3>
+              <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold">Selected ({actualSelectedCount})</h3>
               <Button variant="ghost" size="sm" onClick={clearAllSelectedTools} disabled={actualSelectedCount === 0}>
                 Clear All
               </Button>
             </div>
 
-            {isLimitReached && actualSelectedCount >= MAX_TOOLS_LIMIT && (
+            {showToolCountWarning && (
               <div className="bg-amber-50 border border-amber-200 rounded-md p-3 flex items-start gap-2 text-amber-800 text-sm">
                 <AlertCircle className="h-5 w-5 text-amber-500 mt-0.5 flex-shrink-0" />
                 <div>
-                  Tool limit reached. Deselect a tool to add another.
+                  You have selected {actualSelectedCount} tools. A large number of tools may increase token usage and affect performance.
                 </div>
               </div>
             )}
@@ -679,7 +672,7 @@ export const SelectToolsDialog: React.FC<SelectToolsDialogProps> = ({ open, onOp
         <DialogFooter className="p-4 border-t mt-auto">
           <div className="flex justify-between w-full items-center">
             <div className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
-              Select up to {MAX_TOOLS_LIMIT} tools for your agent.
+              Select tools and agents for your agent.
             </div>
             <div className="flex gap-2">
               <Button variant="outline" onClick={handleCancel}>Cancel</Button>

ui/src/components/create/__tests__/SelectToolsDialog.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/**
+ * @jest-environment jsdom
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it, jest } from "@jest/globals";
+import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import userEvent from "@testing-library/user-event";
+import { SelectToolsDialog } from "@/components/create/SelectToolsDialog";
+import type { AgentResponse, Tool, ToolsResponse } from "@/types";
+
+const serverRef = "kagent/kagent-tool-server";
+
+const makeTool = (id: string): ToolsResponse => ({
+  id,
+  server_name: serverRef,
+  description: `Description for ${id}`,
+  created_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+  updated_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+  deleted_at: "",
+  group_kind: "MCPServer.kagent.dev",
+});
+
+const makeSelectedTools = (count: number): Tool[] => [
+  {
+    type: "McpServer",
+    mcpServer: {
+      name: "kagent-tool-server",
+      namespace: "kagent",
+      kind: "MCPServer",
+      apiGroup: "kagent.dev",
+      toolNames: Array.from({ length: count }, (_, i) => `tool_${i}`),
+    },
+  },
+];
+
+const renderOpenDialog = (selectedTools: Tool[], availableTools: ToolsResponse[]) => {
+  const props = {
+    open: false,
+    onOpenChange: jest.fn(),
+    availableTools,
+    selectedTools,
+    onToolsSelected: jest.fn(),
+    availableAgents: [] as AgentResponse[],
+    loadingAgents: false,
+    currentAgentNamespace: "kagent",
+  };
+
+  const view = render(<SelectToolsDialog {...props} />);
+  view.rerender(<SelectToolsDialog {...props} open />);
+  return props;
+};
+
+describe("SelectToolsDialog", () => {
+  it("warns but does not block selection when many tools are selected", async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    const availableTools = Array.from({ length: 21 }, (_, i) => makeTool(`tool_${i}`));
+
+    renderOpenDialog(makeSelectedTools(20), availableTools);
+
+    expect(screen.getByText("Selected (20)")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText(/You have selected 20 tools/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/Tool limit reached/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/Select up to/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+
+    await user.click(screen.getByText("tool_20"));
+
+    expect(screen.getByText("Selected (21)")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText(/You have selected 21 tools/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /Save Selection \(21\)/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});